Speaking at the CeBIT 2014 trade fair in Hanover, the prime minister described the project as "something to be truly excited about".

"With 4G, an 800 megabyte movie takes around 40 seconds to download - with 5G that would be cut to one second," he revealed.

"This is a prize that researchers all over the world are going for and so I am delighted to announce a new collaboration, between the University of Dresden, King's College University in London and the University of Surrey."

Elsewhere, Cameron also pledged to more than double the spending on "internet of things", boosting funding to £45 million.

"I see the internet of things as a huge transformative development - a way of boosting productivity, of keeping us healthier, making transport more efficient, reducing energy needs, tackling climate change," he explained.

Alongside Germany's chancellor Angela Merkel, who was also in attendance, Cameron said that the two nations would work on abolishing mobile roaming charges across the European Union.

Cameron said: "We welcome the long-term ambition of the European Commission but we want to take steps that deliver benefits for businesses and consumers including complete elimination of mobile roaming charges."